Grand-Slam winning Rugby player Justine Lucas was the guest of honour at this year's Duke of Edinburgh Award presentation evening on Thursday 20th April
A packed crowd of parents and friends sat in the school hall to see over 130 Bronze, Silver and Gold participants receive their Duke of Edinburgh certificates and badges.
The DofE award is the world’s leading youth achievement award, giving millions of 14 to 24-year-olds the opportunity to be the very best they can be by participating in a sport and skill, whilst also volunteering for the local community.
The evening’s awards were handed out by Justine Lucas, an England women’s international rugby player who has over 19 caps for the Red Roses. She was an integral part of this year’s squad that won the Grand Slam in the Women’s Six Nations last March.
Justine, a former student at KTS, spoke of her experience in taking part in the DofE award at school.
“Doing DofE was definitely a highlight of mine whilst at school,” said Lucas.
“It has taught me skills such as teamwork, resilience, determination and communication which I use on a day to day basis and as rugby player. Having those skills has definitely helped me get to where I am today.”
The school’s DofE coordinator, Sarah Hammond Ward said, “Justine inspired us all at DofE presentation evening.”
The night also saw several Gold groups talk about their personal DofE experience and what they enjoyed about it. A requirement for all Gold participants is for them to take part in a five day residential away from home. Annie Ferrari and Charlotte Duke talked about their time at Blackpool Zoo, whilst Bethany Harley described her week earning her Level 1 RYA sailing qualification.
The scheme also requires participants to complete a grueling expedition across rough terrain. James Cook and Alex Massie gave a short presentation about their Gold expedition in Snowdonia in which they walked over 80km for four days with no outside communication or help.
“It it the daddy of all walks,” said Alex. “I had so much fun doing it. Doing DofE is probably one of the best things that we have done in our school lives. The friends you make and the people you meet will stay with you forever.”
The evening was then finished with a speech from DofE volunteer and school governor, Duncan Wardrop, thanking everyone for coming to the evening, whilst also giving a special thank you to all of the countless volunteers, organisers and members of the expedition team that have managed to make the award an endless success.
Year 13s Anil Sidhu, who was one student who received his Gold badge during the evening, said, “I thought it was a great event where we were able to celebrate the success of all of the scheme’s participants.”